1968_4_arabisraelwar

COMMUNIST BLOC / 197
a more moderate line; unlike previous statements, it made no mention of
"Israeli aggression." It repeated earlier views that Israel's withdrawal from
Arab lands occupied since June was the major condition for peace in the
region. It condemned Israel's defiance of UN resolutions but introduced a
new note and requested concerned parties to recognize each others right to
exist. Rumania signed the document, along with the other countries.
ATTITUDES SURVEY
In August the American Jewish Committee released the findings of a survey
of attitudes in Eastern Europe on the Arab-Israeli crisis. Based on data gathered
by public opinion research institutes in West Germany, the survey was
made of several hundred citizens from Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and
Rumania traveling to and from West Europe. Therefore the results obtained
reflected attitudes of persons in favored positions, and with free movement,
such as trade, government, and academic life.
In general, public opinion was favorable towards Israel, closely paralleling
popular sentiments in Western Europe. The results were much alike. The
span between the highest and lowest pro-Israeli figures was 8 percentage
points. The portion of the population, which refused to respond or take a
position, was approximately the same, about 7-10 per cent.
However, an analysis of the findings showed a wide opinion gulf between
the people and governments of the countries, except Rumania, since those
regimes followed the Soviet Union's official anti-Israel and extreme pro-Arab
stand. Among the supporters of the regimes in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia,
62 per cent favored the Arabs, 9 per cent favored the Israelis,
17 per cent were neutral, and 12 per cent had no opinion or did not answer.
Of those opposing the regimes some 70 per cent favored Israel, 3 per cent
favored the Arabs, and 18 per cent remained neutral. In Rumania, only 18
per cent of the supporters of the regime said that their sympathies were with
the Arabs. The report concluded that support for the Arab side came mainly
from Communist party members, with one significant exception: Rumanian
party members tended toward a pro-Israel, or neutral, stance.
JERRY GOODMAN